A novel set in a sort of parallel-universe Britain where, by 2012, humanity is sending a small group of carefully selected astronauts to colonize a planet just like Earth, found on the other side of Alpha Centauri. The six teenagers chosen for the mission have trained for years and won’t set foot on the planet, nicknamed Terra-Two, until they’re in their forties. Oh narrates her novel through the eyes of each teenager, a number of viewpoints that feels unnecessary and somewhat garbled. Although Oh has things to say about the weight of leadership and the emotional disadvantages of privilege, Do You Dream…‘s interest in romance and melodrama feels distinctly YA.

A group of teens, all with their own motivations, are picked through a rigorous schooling and selection process to be the first group in the race to colonize a new planet called Terra-Two. Taking place in a near-future England, the participants all carry a lot of baggage and share the desire for everything that the mission offers them: escape from poverty, proving one's self, even a supernatural belief in the mission. And that was the impression that the book left with me: in order to take on such an enormous task one has to believe, live, and breathe the fervor that it takes to carry things out. If you're not dreaming of Terra-Two, you'll never make it there.

Also of interest is the ethics of such an endeavor - with generation ships and beyond. What would informed consent even look like for minors to take on such a mission? How would the psychological effects of the astronauts and their families left on Earth be accounted for? If space travel makes this leap in real life, all of these questions become salient in new and immediately arresting ways. A thought provoking trip into the galaxy.

Review originally published at: https://lomeraniel.com/book-review-do-you-dream-of-terra-two-by-temi-oh/

I was intrigued by the premises of this book: the journey of six young astronauts that are the first people to travel to a newly discovered planet that is capable of sustaining life. It seemed to be a character-driven story, something I usually enjoy, and I quickly got hooked to the story. The other reason to read this book was that it was described as a crossover between the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers and the 100. I absolutely love the Wayfarers series but this book is not at all like it. Becky Chambers' characters are easy to relate to and love, and they usually find ways to respect and understand each other. The characters in this book are mainly unlikeable and not very well developed.

This is a YA book. YA literature is a hit and miss for me. I guess I enjoy it when the characters are mature or they are especially well portrayed. Sadly, none of these things happens in this book. The characters were not super developed, and the POV changes were a bit confusing because of this. On some occasions, I was not sure who was talking. Also, you would imagine that if Great Britain selects six teenagers for a space trip of twentysomething years, these teens should be the best of the best. This was nevertheless was a very dysfunctional group, and some of the characters had serious mental issues that should have been detected way ahead. I guess this made the story more interesting, as it created more conflicts that wouldn't exist otherwise, but there were so many things that were overlooked on this mission that it's just not realistic. There were also four adults traveling with these six youngsters, but I found these characters even more one-dimensional, and none of the chapters is told from any of the adults' POV. If there's a word that can describe these adults' presence on the spaceship, it could be "absence". They were somewhere there but they barely appeared and they were not at all in charge nor solved any of the conflicts among the teenagers.

Mysticism is also an important element in the story. Seemingly, the planet was discovered after a girl dreamed about it, and when the scientists looked where she dreamed the planet was, they found it. There was also a crew member who constantly dreams about the planet. This rested credibility to the story for me, but since the title makes reference to it, it is an important part of the book. I think I just expected more hard sci-fi, or at least better-developed characters. The book kept me nevertheless more or less interested until the end, even though I found it somehow anticlimactic.

Nneka Okoye delivered very expressive character interpretations which were one of the best parts of this audiobook, but I can't sadly give five stars to her performance. I think I would have toned it a bit down though, as I could hear Okoye often struggling during some interpretations. Mouth noises and breathing were perfectly audible on many occasions, which I found disturbing. These shouldn't be noticeable in any audiobook master track, and should be prevented by using a good microphone and filter, and with appropriate postproduction.

I liked the premise of the book, just didn't get sucked into the story very well. The adults on the ship seemed to fade into the background quickly, the teenagers were self centered as expected. The twist at the end made me angry for all the characters, how horribly unethical decisions can be.

I'm so disappointed in this book. I was really looking forward to reading it, and getting the opportunity for an ARC on Netgalley, I jumped at the chance.

Everything about the book attracted me - the cover, the description, the similarities that it brought to mind of the TV show Terra Nova, and 172 Hours On The Moon. And the inevitable comparisons to The Martian.

What a damp squib this was. If this had been a physical book, I fear I would have thrown it across the room, however, I did not want to break my phone. I knew I was struggling with this at around the 50% mark, possibly before, and I have seen other good reviews, and trying to figure out what I'm missing about this book.

This suffers from numerous issues, with the characters not well enough defined, and too many characters introduced at once. There are also various formatting issues if you're reading this through the Kindle app on your phone, and the really annoying habit of certain names/places not being capitalized. For example, the character of Eliot, is constantly referred to as eliot, which got on my nerves no end.

The characters really annoyed me, including a surprising action in the beginning, which came out of nowhere. I also felt the constant back and forth between the different characters did not work, as they weren't clear in my head, who was who.

There is one main big event about 70% of the way through, which is when the book gets exciting, as something that you weren't expecting happens, but by that point, I felt that it was too little, too late.

Also that ending ... I won't spoil it for anyone, but this is clearly set up for a sequel, or a film. I hated the ending, and I really don't like this book. There's too much to go into, without ruining certain aspects of the book, but it really doesn't flow or work well. I was expecting possibly another standout like The Martian, or 172 Hours On The Moon, and I felt like this was what the author wanted. I didn't see the comparisons to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, as this was another book that I could not get into.

I'm sorry, but I can't recommend this, and I'm really disappointed in the entire book. I have been reading it on and off for nearly two weeks, with a last minute push to get it finished. Just don't pick it up. Pick up one of the others.

With thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.